The man, who is in custody waiting for sentencing, wears a mask through the interview where he tells Kemp the boats are not expected to make the entire journey to Italy

By ELLIE CAMBRIDGE

21st February 2017, 3:58 pm

Updated: 21st February 2017, 4:12 pm

ROSS Kemp has interviewed a people smuggler as part of a documentary looking at one of the world's most dangerous migrant journeys through Libya to Europe - as 74 bodies of suspected refugees washed ashore on a Libyan beach this week.

The man, who is in custody waiting for sentencing, wears a mask through the interview where he tells Kemp the "broken boats" are not expected to make the entire journey to Italy.

Ross Kemp: Libya’s Migrant Hell / Sky1

Ross Kemp visits a prison where a man is being held ahead of sentencing accused of smuggling 2,000 people into Europe

Ross Kemp: Libya’s Migrant Hell / Sky1

He tells Kemp that as a people smuggler he can make a profit of £25,000 a week - in a country where the average monthly wage is £400

EPA

The bodies of 74 suspected refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea have been recovered by volunteers

The one-off feature length documentary on Sky1 tells the stories of the men and women risking everything to get to Europe.

It airs after the bodies of 74 people were recovered from a beach near the town of Zawiya in western Libya.

The documentary also explores how Libya's collapse in the years following Gaddafi's removal has contributed to the refugee crisis.

Kemp gains access to desert regions run by tribal militias and a brothel where women are trafficked by smugglers.

He visits a prison where a man is being held ahead of sentencing accused of smuggling 2,000 people into Europe.

He tells Kemp that as a people smuggler he can make a profit of £25,000 a week - in a country where the average monthly wage is £400.

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He said: "I started when I was a young boy, working for a big smuggler. I was paid 500-1000 dinars to put migrants on a boat.

"Then I got to know some African middlemen, and so I became a proper smuggler myself.

"People come and they pay us money.

"There will be a captain, probably from Gambia or Senegal.

"The middleman brings 90-95 people, and amongst them there will be a captain, a compass man and a GPS man.

"The captain will be from an African country. he is in charge and will have been a fisherman and he won't have to pay."

Kemps says: "You are effectively relying on European search and rescue mission to come and find them."

More than 3,000 people attempt the dangerous crossing every week by boat.

Najia Bounaim, deputy director at Amnesty International's regional office in Tunis, said: "The Libyan authorities must take steps to restore the rule of law and protect the rights of refugees and migrants in the country.

"It’s also crucial for the EU and wider international community to provide safe and legal routes for asylum seekers."

The documentary airs on Sky1 this evening.

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